


one-way ticket

by noyabeans (snowdrops)



Series: writing with snowdrops (haikyuu) [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen, Graduation, M/M, Manga Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-14 18:00:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11213301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowdrops/pseuds/noyabeans
Summary: post-chapter 258.in an alternate universe, they would be the ones on that screen, feet solidly planted on the smooth ground of the tokyo gym and the smell of air salonpas around them.





	one-way ticket

the rattle of the train seems louder than usual. the train seems emptier, too - and that’s when takahiro realises that they’re on the train three full hours earlier than usual. the sun’s still out, and his coat feels a little stiff around the collar. the weather’s been cold lately, and he misses the loose airiness of his jersey.

today’s the second day of nationals. he knows this, because yahaba had dropped an open invite to the team - retired third-years inclusive - to watch karasuno’s match live. oikawa had sent some kaomoji that basically meant ‘not free to watch plebeians play’, and takahiro had closed the chat window.

as he swipes through his line messages, he catches sight of the team chat. the latest message’s from kindaichi, a curt “reaching in 5”.

in an alternate universe, takahiro thinks, none of them would be there inside the audio-visual room, eyes transfixed on a screen before them. in an alternate universe, they would be the ones _on_ that screen, feet solidly planted on the smooth ground of the tokyo gym and the smell of air salonpas around them.

takahiro’s never been a dreamer, but some small part of him can’t help but wonder how it would feel, to stand on a court like that.

“too bad we’re not going to uni,” he says offhandedly, to nothing, no-one in particular.

beside him, issei looks over. his gaze is sharp and contemplative, though his lips are curved into that casual smile-smirk he always wears. “why?”

“would’ve been nice to play volleyball some more, i think.”

issei’s quiet for a while, before he slouches down in his seat. “i’d only have joined a college team if we were playing together.”

 _badum, badum_. the words hang in the air.

“that’s unusual, coming from you,” takahiro says. “you’re becoming sappy in your old age.”

where issei would usually retort with some comeback about takahiro’s birthday, today there is only silence. the train pulls to a stop, doors beeping an arrhythmic melody as their knees knock together with the movement. issei’s pulled out his phone now, the bend of his arms making his elbow dig into takahiro’s side; takahiro wonders if he, like him, is trying to feign deafness to the echoing chasm that seems to have opened up between them over the course of five sentences.

"your bones are sharp," he complains, just because.

there's a flash of a grin on issei's face, like quicksilver and lightning, fleeting and a little too harsh around the edges. a little less natural than usual, but electric, nonetheless. his heart skips a beat at the sight, even as issei shifts his arm, putting a sliver of distance between their bodies.

it’s hardly enough, and hardly what takahiro had asked for, but it’s not like either of them have ever been the kind to do as they were expected to. this, takahiro knows as well as the way that the lock of hair near issei's ear never cooperates with the laws of gravity, and the way that his fingers twirl a pencil when he's looking down at a question he can't quite figure out.

he smiles; even through the cloud of heaviness that has sneaked up on them, this is familiar. this is _them_. this is three years that not even graduation and growing up can shake.

he elbows issei back, just for the sake of it, because it's what they do. push, and pull, and push, a delicate, invisible string quivering, waiting, hanging in the balance.

and takahiro’s never been a dreamer, but in this moment he wonders what would happen, if he were to tip the scales, just a little bit more -

 

**fin.**

**Author's Note:**

> the latest chapter inspired me a little too much. I've never written Matsuhana, ever, and never thought I would, but here we are anyway.
> 
> thank you [Safyre](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphyreLily/pseuds/SapphyreLily) and [Tsucchi](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsucchi/pseuds/Tsucchi)! 
> 
> Catch me at:
> 
> [tumblr (rielity)](https://rielity.tumblr.com/) | [twitter (noyabeans)](https://twitter.com/noyabeans) | [haikyuu writing journal](https://noyabeans.dreamwidth.org/)


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